When you sell on a marketplace, you pay a fee on every order. After checkout, the customer often forgets the shop name and buys from someone else next time. That is when many shop owners start looking at ecommerce website design.
Quick summary
- Do you need one: yes, once orders are steady. You do not have to leave the marketplace.
- Price: a template website from VND 4.99 million (GOLD). To let customers pay online, choose PLATINUM at VND 9.99 million. See the pricing.
- Four jobs you handle yourself: the cart, payment, shipping fees, and looking after past customers.
You already have a marketplace shop. What is your own website for?
A marketplace (Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, and similar platforms) is good at sending new customers. It does not keep the people who already bought from you. Your own website covers that gap:
- No per-order fee when a past customer comes back and buys on the site.
- Your own discount codes, run the way you want.
- A web address you can print on the box and on the thank-you card.
Four common ways to sell online, side by side:
| Route | A fit when | The limit |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces and social networks | A new shop that needs orders now | A fee on every order, and the customer belongs to the platform |
| A SaaS store platform | You need to sell now and do not want deep changes | A shared look, and a rental fee that never ends |
| A template website | Stock is steady and you want your own channel | Layout follows the template; inventory system integration is quoted separately |
| Custom design | A large brand with several warehouses | Longer, with more rounds of review |
A WordPress template website is yours. Your customer and order data do not depend on a subscription plan.
The cart: customers need to see enough before they order
Buyers are used to the smooth checkout on a marketplace. If your own site makes them hunt around, they go back to the marketplace.
- Filters: a shop with a few hundred SKUs (product codes) needs filters for price, brand, and size first.
- Variants: each size and each color has its own price and stock. When an item is out of stock, the buy button hides itself.
- A short checkout: the customer does not need an account. Name, phone number, and address are enough.
- Do not hide the price: making people message you to ask the price almost always loses the order. A Zalo button (Zalo is the most widely used messaging app in Vietnam) next to the buy button is enough.
Payment: COD, bank transfer, or a payment gateway
On your own site, you choose how customers pay:
- COD (cash on delivery) and bank transfer: the two methods Vietnamese customers use most. Have both from day one.
- Cards, e-wallets, and a payment gateway: to let customers pay on the site, you need the PLATINUM package (VND 9.99 million).
- The gateway contract: the shop signs it separately with the provider. They charge the transaction fee.
- HTTPS: the checkout page has to run on HTTPS.
Shipping and the shipping fee: the part the marketplace used to handle
On a marketplace, the shipping fee is already on screen. On your own site you set it yourself, and this is where many shops stumble.
- Charge by province or by order value. Do not use one flat rate for the whole country.
- Show the free-shipping threshold inside the cart so the customer can see how much more they need.
- Connect a courier once orders are steady so you create the shipping label on the site. Fees follow the contract you sign with them.
Looking after past customers, which the marketplace does not hand over
This is the main reason to have your own website. A customer who buys on the site leaves their phone number and address with the shop, not with the marketplace.
Example: print a discount code for the second order and put it in the box you ship from the marketplace, so the customer comes back to the site.
- Customers who reorder every week or every month: a Zalo Mini App (a lightweight app that runs inside Zalo) on the Basic plan, from VND 10 million, is usually leaner than building a separate app.
- Two-way stock sync with the marketplace: no need to rush. Template packages do not include this. When you need it, we look at the software you already use and quote it separately.
How much does ecommerce website design cost?
Payment gateways and e-wallets start at PLATINUM.
| Package | Price | A fit for |
|---|---|---|
| GOLD | VND 4.99 million | A new shop with few SKUs that needs a site quickly |
| GOLD+ | VND 6.99 million | More customization on the product page, or a bilingual site |
| PLATINUM | VND 9.99 million | Online payment and more than one language (the package we suggest) |
| AI PRO | VND 11.99 million | A shop that keeps getting the same questions about size and shipping, and wants an AI assistant |
| DIAMOND | VND 14.99 million | A brand that needs a layout built around its own identity |
What each package includes is on the website design pricing page. On top of the package, budget for a domain and hosting. A shop with many product photos should pick a larger storage plan from the start.
Note: the item people forget most often is real product photos, with enough angles for each color.
When you do not need your own website yet
- A shop that just opened and does not have steady orders yet: we still suggest selling on the marketplace first, and building the site later.
- A large brand with several warehouses: custom design is the better route. It takes longer and needs more rounds of review.
Try six ecommerce website templates
The best way to choose is to shop as a customer would. Open the demo on a phone, add a product to the cart, and go through to checkout. Templates in the ecommerce website templates category all have a cart, and you can change the colors, logo, photos, and the order of the blocks.
Ideas by product category are in the online store website design article. Templates for other industries are in the template library.
Online stores we have designed from scratch
- Helia Fine Jewelry: the customer chooses the metal and the gold color of the piece.
- Kigen Tao Xoan: the product page lets the buyer pick the pack size.
- TOHO Viet Nam: a filter by door type, and a page that finds the nearest store.
Before the first order
A few jobs to finish before you run ads to the website:
- Notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on the online.gov.vn portal. The website owner files in their own name. Once it is confirmed, place the “notified” badge in the footer.
- Have the policy pages: returns, delivery, payment, and privacy.
- Set shipping fees by province, then place a real test order from the cart through to delivery.
- Match prices and stock with the marketplace shop, then submit the sitemap to Google Search Console.
To see what a website needs for Google to read it well, visit our SEO-ready website design page. We do not promise a ranking in advance.
Materials to prepare so the site goes live faster
- Documents: your logo, plus a business license or a household business registration (a household business, or “hộ kinh doanh”, is the registered form many small shops in Vietnam use).
- The product file: name, SKU, price, sale price, size and color variants, and stock.
- Product photos: named by SKU, with enough angles for each color.
- Copy: the policy pages and the shipping-fee table by region.
The website is handed over in 7 to 15 working days once the materials are complete, with a walkthrough so you can manage products and orders yourself. The steps are on the website design process page.
Common questions
How much does ecommerce website design cost?
A template online store at 123Website starts at VND 4.99 million (GOLD). If you want customers to pay on the site through a payment gateway or an e-wallet, choose PLATINUM at VND 9.99 million. The domain, hosting, product photos, and gateway fees sit outside the package.
Which payment methods should an online store offer?
Start with cash on delivery (COD) and bank transfer. Those are the two methods Vietnamese customers use most. Cards, e-wallets, and a payment gateway are in the PLATINUM package. You sign the gateway contract directly with the provider, and they charge the transaction fee.
How long does an ecommerce website take?
A template site is handed over in 7 to 15 working days once the materials are complete. The part that slips most often is the product file and photos for each SKU. If the Excel file and photos named by SKU are ready, the timeline sits closer to 7 days.
We already sell on a marketplace. Do we still need our own website?
We think you should have one, and you do not need to leave the marketplace. The marketplace brings views, but the customer data belongs to the marketplace. Your own site lets you stay in touch with past buyers, run your own discount codes, and avoid a fee on every order.
Does an online store have to notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade?
Yes. A website that sells directly, whether it belongs to a company or a household business, has to be filed on the online.gov.vn portal, with the “notified” badge in the footer. Have the business license and the policy pages ready.
After handover, who updates products, stock, and orders?
Shop staff are shown how to add products, change prices, and process orders in WordPress. If nobody on the team can do it, a website management plan starts at VND 2,200,000/month, with a minimum of 3 months. Lifetime support applies only when you use 123Website hosting.
For shops still deciding
A marketplace is still a good place to find new customers. Your own website is where you keep the people who already bought. If the shop already has steady orders, start with a clear cart, COD, bank transfer, and a shipping fee people can see. Add online payment later, when you need it.
You can open the ecommerce website templates with a live demo, check the cost of each package, then request a consultation so we can look at your product list.
For a quicker conversation, call the sales hotline 0932 092 002, Monday to Friday 8:00–17:30, Saturday 8:00–12:00.
Jollie specializes in business digitalization, advising on digital solutions and management software suited to each stage of a company's growth. With more than 5 years of experience running online marketing for…
